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Sit. Eat. Enjoy.

I’ve hit a wall. I’m frustrated with this challenge. I expected better results than what I’m seeing and I’m not sure if the few days that I haven’t stuck to it hard-core has made the difference or if I’m doing something wrong. The only other thing I could think of is that I’m not bringing in ENOUGH calories. Like that’s ever been an issue before! I’ve added in boxing classes with my running workouts – which now consist of training for a 5K. It’s hard to get excited about something at the moment though, because I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time, energy and money, and I’m not seeing the results I want or expect.

Dinner last night was a mix of leftover “tropical chicken” (aka chicken, salsa and pineapple in the crockpot) with onions, rice and zucchini. It was kind of a twist on fried rice? I used rice wine, and rice vinegar, a splash of balsamic vinegar, grapeseed oil, and garlic powder for the seasoning. It was hard not using teriyaki or soy sauce, and I was trying to emulate the flavors I would have gotten from those by also adding sesame oil and salt. It turned out pretty tasty, and I added some sunflower seeds on top for crunch. I think it would have been better if I had used pecans or walnuts, though – I just didn’t have any.

Sorry to all my readers for my lack of posting. Let’s just say, I fell off the clean eating bandwagon face first and am now scrambling to get back on. Friday, Saturday and Sunday were long days of working and foodie temptation.

Let me just start the remainder of this post off by saying, I am going to be confessing to you all, to get rid of my guilty conscience.

Friday, I had alfredo sauce at Olive Garden. Saturday was processed maple syrup on waffles, Sunday was a turkey, bacon, guacamole sandwich and fries, and yesterday was a taco bowl from Qdoba. Now, all of these were screw ups at one meal in the day…so some people would say don’t sweat it. But I don’t agree. This “clean eating thing” I’m doing is supposed to be a lifestyle adjustment, not a fad diet. So while after the 28 days I may indulge in something that’s not clean, during this initial detox period, I need to be less lenient. I wish there was a clean eating friendly restaurant.

That being said, dinner last night was stuffed bell peppers with ground turkey and dairy-free cheese. They weren’t bad! I take my accomplishment from the fact that my hubby said they looked and smelled good. Reminder – stuffed bell pepper is meat stuffed in a vegetable and not the other way around. If you knew him, you’d understand the accomplishment. I didn’t use rice in my peppers, just the meat and veggies (zucchini, tomatoes and spices), and it was really tasty.

Now let’s focus on some good habits moving forward.

1) This morning, I tried a trick I learned from my Arbonne consultant and added some organic peppermint extract to my banana chocolate shake. Add a straw and it tastes like a milkshake! Hello pick-me-up!

3) I’m now actively involved in training for a 5K after the first of the year with one of my coworkers, and going to be trying out a Tuesday night boxing class to get moving more often and be held accountable for what I’m doing.

I hate to admit it, but for the past 3 days, my clean eating challenge had to go out the window. But it was for good reason.

The amazing owners of the company where I work decided to take us on a three-day retreat to work on the business, and it was at this gorgeous ranch in the middle of Texas. Though they were somewhat accommodating to a gluten-free lifestyle, the other restrictions of the clean-eating challenge were much harder to follow and accommodate. I would have been eating nothing for three days. The bright side, is that the chef was a high class chef who made everything in house. I’m pretty sure they even slaughtered their own beef somewhere. Meaning there wasn’t anything processed. And they were bound and determined that we would NOT go hungry. Not that I minded. We ate these elaborate, delicious three course meals with bottomless glasses of whatever we chose, and more food than we could ever finish. The other plus side was that we were active the entire time we were there – walking, running, shooting, climbing, you name it – we did it. Except maybe swimming – that might be the one exception. To be honest, I’m sure that something that I’ve eliminated from my lifestyle is for the better, because there was more than once that my stomach was not pleased with me. I just don’t know if it was potatoes or dairy.

Back to “reality” today, day 11. It’s been 11 days since I’ve had coffee or soda. Eleven days that I’ve avoided fast food and refined sugar, and for the most part, processed anything. I’m pretty proud of myself, but still find that I’m craving junk. I still don’t think that I’m drinking enough water, and the smell of coffee makes my mouth water. I could always be doing better using my Arbonne products and really sticking to a strict intake of food and output of calories. Today I found that I was tired and worn down, and I’m not sure if it was from the trip and the related catch-up at work, or if it was because of what I did and didn’t eat while we were out.

Dinner tonight was simple, but tasty. I made a broccoli walnut pesto, and mixed it with George-Foreman-grilled chicken and brown rice pasta. The pesto was, frankly, frustrating. It didn’t want to blend just right and I’m not sure what I was doing wrong. But once it finally (kind-of) came together, it was really good.

I worry that overall I’m doing something wrong, because in the mornings and afternoons, the shakes are enough to fill me up for a reasonable amount of time. Maybe it has something to do with not working out enough? I want to get up in the mornings and workout, but I also really like getting a full eight hours of sleep and feel like that might be a crucial step I’ve been missing in the past. Sleep is so important to a healthy lifestyle.

Woohoo, it’s the weekend! Hence why I haven’t posted in three days. And what an interesting three days they’ve been in terms of this challenge.

Friday, day 5, was pretty easy – two shakes for my first two meals, and then I made hummus and scrambled eggs for dinner, with some leftover roasted sweet potatoes. My hubby came home a little later than normal, and I was nice enough to order him a pizza for dinner. It seemed to please him!

Saturday, we started out at the Farmer’s Market, and then we took a trip to the city, and that was my first experience since starting the challenge of being out and about all day. Note to self, plan snacks better, and bring more water. Our breakfast out was meager, because apparently “light” meals equal egg beaters. Blech. So come 10:30, I was starving and cranky. We ended up at Whole Foods and got some scrumptious brown rice sushi and I was a much happier person! Not going to lie, though, walking around there, I sure do miss bread, coffee and cheese. That store is just an overwhelming happy place with all the smells. We meandered in the produce section and one of the stockers asked us if we wanted to try some of the more exotic fruits. But of course we do! Rambutan, Mangosteen and Gooseberries; each was such a unique flavor profile and extremely delicious! I also got some quinoa, and am going to be trying some Ezekiel bread.

Today, Sunday, I discovered the health food store in town, and it broke all my previous expectations! I thought it would be more like a GNC – all vitamins and maybe some protein powders. No! It was like a mini-Whole Foods! They had all kinds of things, including a small freezer section! (Note my excitement due to all the exclamation points.) I found a raw protein bar that had only good things, and my new tea addiction, peach Steaz. I actually tried one (for the first time) with my sushi yesterday, and am super excited that I found it in town. They also had dairy free cheese and gluten free bread, so I made cheeseburgers and sweet potato fries for dinner – I’ve only been craving a cheeseburger since Tuesday! I was pleasantly surprised by the Udi gluten-free bread, I couldn’t tell the difference. My final experiment for the evening was protein balls using Arbonne chocolate protein powder, gluten free flour, almond butter, agave, a small pinch of cinnamon and a sprinkling of cocoa powder with some chia seeds for crunch. I stuck them in the freezer to try tomorrow, hopefully they turn out! I’m sure this will be a continuous experiment.

The next few days are going to be challenging. I’m going on a retreat for my job, and though I’m super excited about it, I think the dietary restrictions are going to be interesting. They have a gluten free menu, which is helpful, and I’m going to take my protein with me and some snacks, but still. The worst part will be the happy hour and the “s’mores on the patio” – I want to partake and not be rude, but it breaks everything! Dilemmas.

P.S. sorry for the complete lack of pictures. Like I said – busy weekend!

Day 4, I got my products! It was very exciting to see that huge box on my doorstep! I’m super excited to try it out. I did add some fiber boost to the dinner I made last night, and it really is tasteless and odorless, and the best part, in my opinion, is it doesn’t change anything in your dish – it’s not a thickener, it doesn’t make it runny, anything like that. So it’s not going to affect the dish if you add it.

I did have two shakes yesterday – one for breakfast and one for lunch, and I didn’t seem to have any problems with being starving. At least, not more than normal. It took a few hours, and it was dinner time, and then I was hungry. But I’ve been doing really well with spacing out my meals and snacks throughout the day. It’s almost becoming a second nature. Now I just need to work on drinking more water. Baby steps!

Yesterday was (unfortunately) one of those days. And with my emotional eating, all I wanted to do was drive over to Wayne’s, get a burger and a cherry limeade, and eat my feelings. Instead, I went to the grocery store and bought healthy, gluten free ingredients for dinner. Except that one I had to send my hubby for later.

Dinner last night was a completely different one than I’ve ever tried before, but it was comfort food all the same, and that’s what I needed. Completely vegan and gluten free too! I made a cauliflower “alfredo” sauce, rice pasta, and roasted veggies. The cauliflower alfredo took some toying with – so I’ll post a recipe for that one later. The pasta, though it was rice pasta instead of wheat pasta, was really good! Neither of us could tell the difference and my hubby even went back for seconds – which means it must have tasted good.

Yesterday was day three and so far the hardest day yet. Normally, on Wednesdays, I go and get some “fancy coffee” and breakfast on my way to work. Instead, I made a shake and headed to work. Thankfully I don’t drive right past the fancy coffee or it would be even harder. We also went out to dinner with some good friends, and the salad that I had, had cheese on it. I read the listing for it, but didn’t even think to ask or skimmed over it without realizing – I’m not sure which. At least the restaurant we went to somewhat prides itself on good ingredients, so I knew what I was eating was a good choice. Surprisingly enough – I didn’t eat the whole salad! Very unusual for me. When I brought this all up to my hubby, he pointed out that I felt bad about it, which would reaffirm the reason I’m doing this challenge, so I shouldn’t be too concerned with a little slip-up. I think he’s right.

I know it’s only been three days, but I can already see/feel some improvement. I wish I would have taken my “before” picture on Monday when I started this – I had decided to wait until I was actually using the Arbonne products (which should be tomorrow hopefully!). I notice that some of the bloat is gone, that I’m not tired all day, that I sleep a lot better, and I’m not eating as much (most of the time) – oh and I’m in a relatively better mood all day. I definitely have to rethink how I see my food, though, because I don’t have any leftovers to eat for lunch on day 4 – so I can’t just run down to the sandwich shop and grab a bite, I need to find an alternative. Maybe I’ll try two shakes.

And with that – I leave you with a reminder. Look for the bare necessities, forget about your worry and your strife. And this dancing bear. Happy Thursday!

Day 2 was a little more trying than day 1. Though I didn’t get a headache from no coffee! I figured out that I’m an emotional eater, and that is going to come back to bite me be my biggest challenge. Though I did manage to show restraint and not completely blow it! Now I just need to be more consistent with my workouts.

I’ve found that I’m already sleeping better, and by using the schedule that I’m on now, I’m easily getting a full eight hours. I think by continuing on this trend instead of cutting it short to six or seven, the results may be better…but we’ll see – that means that I have to continue to workout in the afternoons.

So, dinner last night was fajitas! It’s interesting that Mexican food, in the most traditional, no fluff sense, is the common theme for these meals. Week one had taco salad and enchiladas on the menu, and fajitas was in another week. I think it’s because of the emphasis on vegetables and grilled meats. And not everything has to be covered in a sauce, like in most Tex-Mex restaurants. For my fajitas, I used leftover rotisserie and oven-roasted chicken, cooked everything in grapeseed oil, and added some spices. I served mine over a bed of greens with some of the cilantro lime rice from last night, and Morgan’s was on a tortilla with cheese. It was definitely tough not to have cheese and tortillas with my fajitas, but the flavors were bold enough that I was only missing it a little once I started eating it.

Let’s talk about this picture. See that green stuff on top? Looks like some high-fat, you shouldn’t eat that kind of sauce, doesn’t it? Let me tell you…it’s not! It’s paleo, vegan, gluten-free and clean. I found it on Pinterest, which led me to a blog called Feed Me Rachel, while searching for an avocado ranch. It uses avocados and coconut milk, salt, dill, garlic and onion powders and lemon juice to keep it from turning brown. It was pretty delicious and I still have enough for the rest of the week if I wanted to use it! Didn’t taste exactly like a mixture of avocados and buttermilk ranch, but with these fajitas, it didn’t need to! And it took the place of sour cream – since we can’t have dairy on this clean eating challenge.

A few people have asked me why in the world I’m avoiding coffee, and what is this clean eating thing I’m doing? I’m happy to tell them that I’m doing it for my health, and if weight loss is a side effect, I won’t complain. That it’s called a challenge for a reason – it’s not meant to be easy, and it challenges the “normal” diet of processed food. It is also challenging what we’re doing that seems healthy, like making small substitutions, and forces us to follow a strict, clean diet – almost in an experimental, “Try it and see what happens” sense. I am also sure to sneak in that I’m using Arbonne products to help me along the way.